What I learned in the documentary "Extreme by Design-UIF" is that every team faces adversity. The take away is to accept those adversities and come up with solution that has everybodies input, communication is everything whether it be the teammates or the community there around.
2021 talk:Forum/Extreme By Design
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What I learned from the documentary Extreme By Design is that conflict happens in team settings. It could be a disagreement with a plan or idea. But the lesson of communication is prominent throughout the documentary. Through disarray, lessons are being taught. With continuous moments of conflicts and failures, success will soon follow.
What I took away from the film is that you have to enjoy the process when you are working with a team. During the process, you will run into roadblocks along the way and every idea or invention may not be successful, but you can take away some form of a lesson from your experience.
What really stood out to me from the documentary was the importance that teamwork and the establishing of member's roles had to the success of the project. I found it very interesting to see the various power dynamics at play within different groups, and how conflict resolution and communication could either make or break a team's effectiveness. It was also pretty enlightening seeing how much work goes into initial ideation and prototyping, considering that their solutions are still in their infancy and may take years for implementation.
Seeing the intensive process which the Extreme project put through Stanford students...made me reflect upon my previous teamwork experiences and how I would need to approach the UIF program.
From the perspective of communication, it is clear that it is a key component of a successful team. Each team member must be able to comfortably talk with each other as well as be open about any limitations the individual may have. Chris from the IV infusion team thought that as the engineer team...the responsibility of building the prototype was on him and therefore was under a lot of pressure. If he had communicated early about his emotions and the process then maybe the rest of the team would've been able to help him.
2 brains are better than 1: When brainstorming one must be open to other's ideas... and not shut them down by thinking less of others. As a team member, I must be completely open to hearing others people's ideas and in fact motivate others to speak their mind as well. Likewise, this will also help us land upon a project which we will all enjoy developing.
Still regarding to the finding help, as long as ones have strong will, clear visions, great supports, matter related to funding or monetary support won't be a problem. There is always a way. I do completely agree with your point that if he was being open to their teammates about his feeling since the beginning, things could be easier for everyone. Moreover, good intention is not enough to invent a successful product. Solid research, trial-and-error, and being attentive to the community and cultural context also play significant roles.
The path of the infusion team in the documentary appeared to have the most conflict, but in the end it was clear that this was not necessarily a hindrance to the success of the team. It was a diverse group, with both a traditional engineer and a former platoon leader expressing their different leadership and teamwork styles. Often, the desire to move forward came into conflict with the desire to refine the existing product, which is a common problem in teams that have deadlines. However, the group found common ground due to the fact that conflicting styles often work as checks and balances rather than as obstacles. Abraham Lincoln famously assembled a "team of rivals" to make up his cabinet, since he knew the benefits of differing viewpoints. Although a leader's instinct may be to silence the voices of those that disagree with them, such a mindset is doomed to fail. Conflict is an asset, not an impediment to success.
I completely agree with this viewpoint! This was the biggest take home that I need to work on moving forward. I tend to be a strong leader and sometimes, in hindsight, feel I've potentially overstepped my bounds and need to be more cognizant of other perspectives. By watching the group dynamics on the infusion team, it was clearly demonstrated that to be a leader is not to do everything yourself--you need to trust your teammates and ensure you're not silencing the voices of others. Thank you for this post!
Conflict is an asset if you can properly utilize it. I thought that it was interesting watching the IV team interact. At one point the engineer said, "I don't care if I am the one to do it, it just has to be done correctly." In the following segment he continually denigrated the work the other members put into designing the casing. I think that showed that he didn't really believe that anyone else could do it to his standards. In situations like that, I think compromise must make an appearance.
Very interesting post and great Lincoln Quote.
Conflicts are something that I used seeing as proof of failures or an explanation of them. With that video, I understood how I was completely wrong. As you guys are saying, conflict can be an asset. I think it is part of human nature to think "I am right and the others are wrong" and we have to accept it. However, when we start going over the conflict, we realize the good of it. A conflict can point to something we did not realize. Our conflict proves that every team member has different backgrounds and opinions, which is positive for a work project given that the design thinking process would have different perspectives within the group depending on the experiences, cultures, etc of each team member. A conflict can also make the team stronger. There is a lot to take from conflicts. I am sure every big business that guides today's world had and still has conflicts within the there team. The only important thing is using it as a strength and not as a weakness. I believe that the last point determines if a team would be successful or not in what they are doing.
I agree with you Bryan, I also think that healthy discussions are always positive and allow us to strengthen ourselves from our differences, which leads to a much better product at the end of the process, as it is enriched by different opinions and perspectives. The video helped me to distinguish parts of the teamwork that I did not think were important either, but now I realize that they are essential to be successful in any project.
What immediately stood out to me during the ideation round is what Seth from the IV infusion team said; you are not going to figure out the process if you don't care. As such, you need to develop passion and empathy.
I completely agree with you! If you are not able to step into the shoes of those you are designing for, you may not get very far. To add to that one thing that is very important is listening. We saw with the group trying to help the village with transporting water. They wanted to design something completely different after the villagers were saying that would not use it.
After watching the movie it became clear that communication is the key to a successful team. In the movie the team that lacked communication did not fully succeed while the team that communicated well with one another were able to share their ideas with one another and eventually create a successful product. The movie helped me learn that everyone on my team is different and each brings a different skill. Each of their skills should be taken into consideration as it will help us reach our goals.
I totally agree with you. I also think it is important to accept that something help is necessary in order to not put pressure in the teammates that have not the expertise that is required with a deadline around the corner. It was the case of the business student and the engineering one, because the product needed electronic knowledge and the business student didn't know any of these. It was really difficult because he had to trust in the abilities of his teammate, but it was a hard duty to do. It would be great if he could be flexible to work with more people to get to the goal earlier.
I noticed the exact same thing after watching the documentary. Communication is the key in order to achieve things with your team. Multidiverse teams are nothing if they lack from good communication. The documentary helped me to understand that all teams sometimes have their drawbacks, and is our responsability as team members to improve the communication and go on to reach our goal
My big takeaway is that no matter how hard you work on something, it is not always guaranteed to pay off in the end. However, it is still worth the trouble to at least try. The documentary showed us examples of lifesaving projects being successful and an example of a project not working out because of patent problems. I think this is a realistic and unfortunate, but it is a good lesson because the people who failed still figured out that they could make a cheaper alternative to an essential medical device. Thank you for reading my post.
I think this documentary shows the very real aspects of teamwork. It is challenging - we may not have people that work the same way we do, they may have different ideas on how to carry out projects, and it doesn't always prove successful each time around. There are so many valuable lessons on teamwork that I was able to relate to and take away. It assured me that some of the conflict that we have been facing within our own group is perfectly natural. I would dare dare say that the conflicts we have in our group is essential and has provided opportunities for growth.
The breakdown between Chris and Seth was a learning moment for me because it showed a point of tension when members of the group do not feel like all are actually working together. Because there was a success at the end, I think supporting your team up till the very end and allowing each member to play to their strengths is a good way to operate. However, I believe the conflict could have been avoided with stronger initial conversations and clear communication about who would do what and when. The initial conversations have to be conducive to movement in the forward direction, not just a series of agreements or challenges. There has to be engagement on both ends and agreement about each role and expectations for the team. I believe that, if these expectations are established, it sets a great foundation for members to keep faith in each other and letting them do their jobs- leading to a success (which doesn't always mean producing something that works- discovering learning moments from failure is a success).
I was biting my nails off while watching them cause I thought they might not make it. They had trouble trusting each other and their skills, maybe because of their different academic backgrounds (business vs engineering). It also showed that even when two people are trying to find middle ground and work together it isn't automatically easier. It did show how they took a leap of faith for each other at the end and trusted them to get the work done, and they did! It made me really happy while also reminding me that it is important to believe in the people you work with as much as much as you believe in your project.
